Videos of Summer

We think she is just the cutest thing ever.  I especially like Nathan's slow motion video that I didn't even know he had taken on my phone.  I love the surprises I find on my phone and iPad sometimes. The first video is Summer at the top of the stairs.  She learned to go up and down the stairs the first week but after tumbling down half the stairs one time, she got nervous and wouldn't come down by herself for a few days. That's why she is barking at the top.  Zach has a video of training her to walk on the leash.  She hated the leash at first and wouldn't cooperate at all.  But we watched some training videos and practiced with her and though she is no expert, she can now take a pretty good walk around the neighborhood.

I think Mario loves the fact that she is the mix of two very smart breeds so she trains fairly easily, except for the potty training which is taking longer than I hoped. But at least she has slept through the night from day 1.  I can't compain!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Summer

Summer

With the possibility of a move this summer, I begged Mario to ask the landlord if we could get a puppy to help the boys with the transition.  He reluctantly agreed.  We have enjoyed the past couple years being pet free so we can come and go as we please.  But I felt it was time for the boys to have another pet.  Zach kept reminding us that we were squashing his dream of becoming a vet because we wouldn't allow him to have a dog.

I researched different breeds and decided on a mutt!  That's what Mario calls her anyway.  She is referred to as a "designer dog" but I feel that sounds snobby.  I decided that I wanted a mini golden doodle.  I was tired of big, shedding dogs and wanted something small and cuddly.  The boys had no idea that I was researching dogs.  I already had enough input from Mario who was wanting a big dog like a lab, golden retriever or husky.  I didn't want even more input from the boys.  Ha ha.

Again, Mario reluctantly agreed to the golden doodle.  He thinks poodles are ugly and hated the thought of having a poodle mix.  But he also knew that I am the one that is home all day with the dog and I do the majority of the cleaning.

After deciding on the kind of dog, I researched breeders.  Holy cow!  These dogs typically sell for between $2000-$3000.  There was no way on earth I was willing to pay that amount.  For two full days, I researched breeders.  I finally found one in South Dakota that sold them under $1000.  Even though that still was expensive, it sounded like a bargain compared to the other breeders.  I sent in my $100 deposit and went to Florida for Christmas.

Christmas day, we surprised the boys with news that we were getting a puppy when we got back to Nebraska.  As they described it, "It was the best Christmas ever!"  Neither complained that I had picked out the dog.  They were just happy to get one.

The plan was for me and a friend to go pick up the puppy on Wednesday when the boys went back to school.  But on Monday evening at about 8:30, I suggested that we load up the van, drive several hours, get a hotel, and then get up the next morning to pick up the puppy and then drive back to Omaha.  Now, Mario and Nate are not spontaneous people at all.  I didn't think either would go for that plan.  But surprisingly they both said yes.  I called the breeder and asked if we could come early the next morning.  She said that the weather was going to be bad and she wouldn't recommend it.  But Mario said that he was fine going and we'd just be careful.  So in 15 minutes, we packed the van with water, food, blankets, and lots of winter gear.  We loaded up a crate that a friend gave to us and we took off.  We drove until 1:15 in the morning and then stopped for a hotel.  There was lots of blowing snow the last half hour so I was glad to stop.

The next morning, we left about 7:30 and arrived at her house about 8:30 am.  Lorna brought out 3 puppies for us to play with so we could choose.  Nathan wanted the male but Mario wanted the female because she was a little less curly (and poodle looking) and she wouldn't spray when she went potty.  So we picked the small female and when I asked what I owed her, she told me that with the military discount, $400.  I hadn't even asked for a discount since she was already so much cheaper than the rest.  So now I call her my discount puppy, just like in the movie- Marley and Me.

To pick a name was even more complicated.  Zach and I were agreeable to almost every name that was seriously considered but Mario and Nate couldn't agree on a single name.  Nate liked Minnie, Winnie, and Mikki.  Mario kept asking him to keep thinking of names.  As he looked out the car window at all the snow in South Dakota, he said "How about Winter?"  Mario said, "I don't really like the winter though."  So Nate said, "How about Spring or Summer."  Mario's favorite season is spring because of the resurrection but we all agreed that Summer sounded like a better puppy name than Spring.  I wanted a name that reminded me of Florida and felt that Summer was perfect.  So that's how Summer got her name.  But a few days later, Mario felt guilty for not liking one of Nate's original names so he asked him if he wanted to change her name to Winnie.  Nate didn't want to since she seemed be learning her name already.  Plus he really liked the name Summer.

Well, we are all in love with Summer, including Mario.  He said, "If I would have known a puppy could be this good, I would have agreed to one a long time ago."  Eric reminds us that she isn't a typical puppy.  She sleeps thru the night.  We've only heard her bark a couple times.  She whines for a couple minutes when you put her in the crate but then she is totally fine even if you are in the room eating dinner.  Summer already fetches and she is working hard on potty training.  We couldn't be more pleased with our "discount puppy."

This is part of the drive by Lorna's house.  I am surprised my van made it through.

This is the one!

First bath immediately after getting home.

Gage Anderson playing with her

She goes everywhere with us.

Dream Job-ROTC Commander

Mario found out last week that he finally was getting his dream job!  He will be the Air Force ROTC commander at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  

Mario was an ROTC instructor at the University of Hawaii when the boys were born.  His wish was to have the commander job just before he retires.  He had given up that dream when we moved back to Nebraska from Spain because we didn't want to move the boys again.  But last year, he was told he needed to apply for a command job.  He was about to write a letter asking the Air Force to let him stay in Omaha for the boys' sake.  But the Holy Ghost confirmed to both of us that it wasn't a good idea to write the letter.  We didn't know what that would mean for our family, but with faith, we accepted Heavenly Father's will and applied for a command job even if that meant we would have to move somewhere far away including internationally.

Last week, he received notification that he was selected for the job just 50 minutes away from Omaha.  At first we thought he would commute, but after visiting the temple and praying about it, we felt that we should move to Lincoln.  It would still allow us to visit our friends and Eric as often as we wanted but would allow Mario much more family time each day. Nothing is more important than that family time.

So on Saturday, we loaded up the van and drove down to the area.  We found a subdivision that we all fell in love with and plan to buy a home.  We plan to meet with the builder tomorrow to get more information.

I am so grateful for the guidance Heavenly Father gives us in our lives.  The Gift of the Holy Ghost is truly a wonderful gift that I try very hard not to take for granted. How thankful I am for that guidance in my life.

Christmas in Florida

This is our third Christmas in a row in Florida and every time we go, Mario and I are become more and more committed to retiring there.  We literally cannot wait to be there full time.  Everyday Mario goes to work dreaming about the day we move there.  And everyday that it is cold here in Omaha, I dream about that day too.  I don't mind spring, summer, and fall here but winter just seems to be forever somedays.  It's not just the weather that makes us want to move there, we love being with my family.  I have such wonderful parents and siblings.  It will be a little bittersweet because I'm only 6 hours from my sister now, so we will be far when we move.  But at least we can visit her and her family whenever we want.

We stayed with Billy and Kristen again.  They are such wonderful hosts.  Billy stocks the pantry with junk food for my kids (and himself I think.)  He takes us boating (and fishing) as often as we want. He heated his pool for 10 days straight.  I feel like Kristen and I could talk all day since we don't see each other often.   She is a wonderful mom and wife.

This year, we went by to check out our home in Venice. It needs a new pool cage or at least new screening.  While there, Karen took us on a tour of the house.  She keeps the house in impeccable condition. We have been blessed with the best renter ever I think.  But as I looked at the pool, I got discouraged at how outdated it had become.  Maybe that's because Billy just spent a ton of money renovating his pool area and mine now looked really old.  But I walked away thinking maybe we should sell and buy something newer.  Mario agreed and so we looked at a new subdivision that is more resort-like.  He liked it.  I did not.  I realized how much I loved my home's floor plan and location.  It really made me appreciate what I already had and I didn't need anything else.  So for now, we are going to keep what we have thank goodness.  We will probably do some renovations when we move in a few years from now.

Anyway, we loved every minute we had in Florida.  The weather was perfect, my family got together often, and we just had the best time.  Christmas morning was a little disappointing for the boys since they got all their gifts before flying down to Florida. But Christmas afternoon, we told them about the puppy and they declared it the best Christmas ever.

While in Florida, we did an Escape Room with our family, Grandma and Papa, and Gina.  We escaped with only like 2 minutes to spare.  It was a close one and I was convinced we were going to lose.  Eric and Zach took a trapeze class which was pretty scary for me to watch as their mother.  But they both had a good time.  We visited the Tesla store so Eric could dream about his first new car purchase after he has a real job.  Eric got to drive Billy's mustang which was a lot of fun.  Speaking of mustang, we followed Billy thru a residential neighborhood to go to Englewood to get a boat. Billy was speeding thru in his mustang and we followed in a Honda CRV.  A police officer pulled us over and not Billy.  Fortunately, he let us off with a warning (maybe because Mario showed his military ID, haha).

Hutch

My parents gave us some furniture when we first got married. This hutch is one of the last pieces we have left. In fact, it had a top on it but the glass got broken in a move awhile back so we got rid of it and just kept the bottom for the sentimental value.

Mario decided to paint it this year. I think he did a great job. It is now a beautiful piece of furniture in our living room. What a difference paint and new hardware make!Now I want him to paint the rest of our furniture.

Homemade Ornaments

I'm so thankful for my friendship with Sharon Dryer. She is super crafty and she's kind enough to invite me over to teach me new things all the time. She's the one that taught Erin and I how to quilt so she is extra special to me.

This past week, Sharon taught me how to take those plain glass balls you buy at the craft store and turn them into beautiful ornaments.









- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Erin's Quilts

I decided that maybe I could honor Erin by making a quilt each Christmas for a young woman that is suffering in the same ways Erin was suffering. This year I chose my friend, Michelle's daughter, Aly. She is 13 years old and just a beautiful girl inside and out like Erin. Her favorite colors are black and white. So this is the quilt I plan to give her this weekend before I leave for Florida. I hope she likes it. I enjoyed making it for her. It brought back memories of quilting with Erin. What a wonderful time we had together learning how to quilt. I will always treasure those memories.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad